When Seals Attack

The bite on the heel came as a surprise to Tyrone Critchley. He was swimming when the seal bit him, dragged him underwater and then shook him before letting go. The fact that it had dull teeth didn't matter. "I was freaking," said Tyrone in an interview. "I swallowed a bunch of water and was just going nuts, screaming, throwing my arms around and kicking as hard as I could. It dragged me down a second time and I just ripped my foot out of its mouth and headed for shore."

Shark attacks are something you hear about in the news a lot but not seal attacks. Seal attacks aren't a danger swimmers usually have to worry about. Tyrone Critchley was attacked while swimming near the shores of Texada Island, British Columbia. He's not the only one who had an encounter with a seal, possibly the same one.

Not long after Tyrone's scary encounter, Carol Mearns was also attacked in the same waters. The seal jumped into her kayak and bit her in the arm. Her son was knocked out of the kayak onto the rocks. The gray harbor seal left puncture marks on her left arm. "I really had no warning except that I had seen the seals out there. I had no warning that an attack was imminent," says Carol.

Swimmers near Texada Island won't be seeing any signs that say 'Beware of Seals' in the future. Marine biologists say there's no good explanation for the seal's behavior but it's not something people have to worry about. It has happened before but it's rare.

Have you ever been attacked by seals or any other mammal, reptile, bird, insect or even plant? We want to hear about it so